Materialism is one of the main problems of modern society. The main idea of Piff’s speech is that as a person’s wealth increases, his sense of empathy and compassion for the poorer decreases. The conclusions of more affluent people are reduced to the fact that the pursuit of their interests can be attributed to moral actions (Piff, 2013). Thus, they are ready to sacrifice other people’s interests and commit immoral acts for their benefit. In studies, rich people show higher greed and desire to get rich (Piff, 2013). Wealthier people cheat to make money, although the profit is relatively small.
Rich people feel their power and the weakness of others. To demonstrate this clearly, scientists conducted an experiment in which students were offered a monopoly game. Wealthier players began to feel stronger and dominate the weaker ones. This happened even though the participants were given money randomly. Additionally, I notice the difference between richer and poorer people. As my own experience shows, people with great wealth treat me condescendingly and prejudiced. From this, we must conclude the distribution of wealth. People with high incomes believe that they can sacrifice the interests of others. However, it should be understood that respect and empathy are superior to any material wealth.
There is a correlation between money and happiness that needs to be looked at. In Norton’s speech about joy, the main idea is the relationship between money and positive emotions from shopping and spending on ourselves or someone else. Thus, it was found that people become happier if they spend money not only on themselves (Norton, 2011). Moreover, it does not depend on their financial situation or status in society. A study in which two groups of students were allowed to spend money on themselves or others found that those who spent money on someone experienced significantly more positive emotions.
I think that this is a significant indicator of happiness, not dependent on material goods. Gifts and material assistance to other people evoke more positive emotions than money spent on me. Thus, I believe that rich people should organize more events to raise money to help others. Moreover, it is necessary to study the issues of poverty, education, and medicine in third-world countries to think about respect and support for those in need.
References
Norton, M. (2011). How to buy happiness [Video]. TED.
Piff, P. (2013). Does money make you mean? [Video]. TED.